Case Study 4

Public Integrity, 17: 315–318, 2015 Copyright # American Society for Public Administration ISSN: 1099-9922 print/1558-0989 online DOI: 10.1080/10999922.2015.1065113

GUEST EDITORIAL

Leadership in Public Administration: Creative and/or Ethical?

Donald C. Menzel

Northern Illinois University

Is it possible for a leader to be both ethical and creative? Assuming you don’t think the categories are mutually exclusive, have you ever wondered about what creative leadership is and how it might be achieved? There is a substantial literature about creative leadership, and a more modest one on ethical leadership, yet almost no reported research linking the two. In principle, the constructs are not in situ compatible with one another; one can be a creative leader without being an ethical one, or an ethical leader without being especially creative.

But, and it’s a big but, can creative leadership and ethical leadership be learned as complementary components of effectiveness? One school of thought asserts the “no” side and views all leadership traits as innate: You’re either born with them, or you’re not. Those on the “yes” side refuse to accept such determinism, but still struggle to understand the process by which one becomes an effective leader, a process that can often seem elusive, even mystical. Nonetheless, it is an axiom of modern management and education that not only can both creative and ethical leadership be learned, but that they should be learned. Indeed, there is no shortage of educational and training programs in the United States that purport to teach leadership and ethical decision-making skills.

Nearly every textbook on the subject typically describes the transactional, transformational, entrepreneurial, transcendent, and charismatic styles of leadership. But could these not also have a creative dimension? A transactional leader is, by definition, one who is capable of ensur- ing that organizational members and processes work with minimum friction, thus producing a product or service that is high on quality and low on cost. Would not Henry Ford’s amazing success in the development of a factory-assembled Model T qualify him as a transactional and creative leader? Or, how about Steve Jobs’s transformational skills and vision that turned Apple into the giant success it is today? Surely he would be regarded as a creative leader as well. Further, consider Bill Gates and Microsoft, or Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook—they

Correspondence should be sent to Donald C. Menzel, Ethics Management International, Northern Illinois University, 3421 Reynoldswood Drive, Tampa, FL 33618, USA. E-mail: [email protected]

unquestionably could be considered entrepreneurial leaders with a creative bent. Transcendent leadership, demonstrating leadership beyond self-interest, comes to mind when the names of Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., and Nelson Mandela are mentioned—surely creative leaders too! U.S. Presidents Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton shared a strongly charismatic leadership quality that could be interpreted as creative. Therefore, creative leadership, as these examples suggest, is not necessarily a distinct quality that cannot coexist with other traits.

Creative leadership is something more than having a vision or creating value or attracting followers. Creative leadership draws together three distinct but interconnected constructs— creativity, leadership, and innovation (Puccini, Mance, & Zacko-Smith, 2015). The ability to generate and execute innovative ideas is what separates creative from noncreative leaders. Traditional leaders tend to execute “tried-and-true” strategies, such as cost-cutting or product/ service extensions, but they rarely disrupt their governing bodies or industries, or create new product/service categories.

What is ethical leadership? There are three basic ingredients: being an ethical role model to others, treating people fairly, and actively managing ethics in the organization. Leading with integrity is yet another way of describing ethical leadership. A person with integrity is honest, truthful, and unwilling to compromise values or principles for advancement or personal gain. It means taking personal responsibility for errors one may commit, and recognizing and crediting others for their work and contributions to the organization’s mission.

Why is ethical leadership important? Does this question even need to be asked? The question does need to be asked—and answered, because we too often take it for granted, and it is much too important to ignore. Two obvious, compelling reasons that it is important is that ethical leadership (1) makes a positive difference in organizational performance, and (2) builds public trust and confidence in public agencies. Consider a recent study of the impact of ethical leadership on workplace behavior. Hassan, Wright, and Yukl (2014) surveyed 161 managers in a large U.S. state government agency and reviewed reports and personnel records. The findings supported their hypothesis that ethical leadership (1) increases the willingness of public sector employees to report ethical problems to management, (2) strengthens the organizational commitment of employees, and (3) reduces the frequency of absenteeism.

Building public trust and confidence in government organizations is no easy task. Indeed, there are numerous examples of the lack of ethical leadership corroding public trust. Several years ago, I conducted a case study of the ethical meltdown of a professionally managed local government in the Tampa Bay, Florida, region. The case involved educated, politically astute elected and appointed county officials who found themselves invoking the oft-used rationalization when there was no other direction to turn—“I didn’t do anything unethical, illegal, or immoral.” The story revolved around the attempt of a property appraiser employed by the government to sell his private property to the county; in the aftermath, the county attorney and the county administrator both had to resign, the property appraiser decided not to run for a fifth term of office, and a grand jury presentment concluded that the breadth of scandal surrounding this affair “will have a lasting impact on how the citizens view their officials and government” (van Sant, Abel, & Blackwell, 2007). As a distraught citizen observed in a letter to the editor, this “sort of back-door deal causes residents to distrust the commission . . . a wink and a nod won’t do” (Keep Delving Into What’s Behind Sordid Land Deal, 2007). Did local government officials demonstrate ethical leadership? Hardly! Was public trust diminished? Without question!

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So the important question is: How does one become an ethical leader? Step one is to become ethically competent. It is hard to imagine an ethical leader who is not ethically competent. What, then, are the skills and qualities needed to become ethically competent? I would list five: (1) a commitment to high standards of personal and professional behavior, (2) a knowledge of relevant ethics codes and laws, (3) the ability to engage in ethical reasoning when confronted with challenging ethical situations, (4) the ability to identify and act on public service ethics and values, and (5) a commitment to promoting ethical practices and behaviors in public agencies and organizations. Implied in these five components are knowledge of the normative founda- tions of administrative ethics and a thorough grounding in organizational theory and behavior.

The pursuit of ethical competence as a foundational building block for ethical leadership is not a one-time affair. Rather, it is a life-long endeavor that can involve missed opportunities, blind alleys, and, sometimes, blind spots and traps that can lead even the most ethically minded person astray. Consider the utilitarian trap. That is, leaders who believe it is their job to always make decisions that satisfy most employees in their organization may also, in doing so, be sacrificing the right thing to do. A manager who supports across-the-board pay raises may make many employees happy, but is it the fair thing to do for those who work is meritorious compared to those whose work is substandard? Majoritarianism has its place in a democratic society, but it can’t be the only decision rule to follow in making ethical decisions. A utilitarian approach— calculating the best outcome for the most employees—can be perceived as, if not constitute the reality of, an exercise in manipulating the means to a desired end.

Becoming an ethically competent leader is not an easy or simple task. One must sidestep traps and blind alleys and, above all, make a long-term commitment to leading with integrity. Such a commitment involves taking advantage of opportunities to stay ethically fit through programs and experiences offered by professional associations, educational institutions, and frequent self-study and reflection. Of course, an ethically competent person can become a de facto ethical leader merely by setting an example and engaging in advocacy. Ethical leadership is not rooted in a particular job title.

So, what do creative leadership and ethical leadership have in common? Let’s begin with motivation. Self-motivation and the ability to motivate others is a common property of both creative and ethical leadership. As an intrinsic property, self-motivation is essential to being creative and becoming ethically competent. Motivating others is central to creative leadership and an intentional, sometimes unconscious, feature of ethical leadership. While change and innovation are always forces to be reckoned with in creative leadership, they can be confound- ing influences on ethical leadership. Creative leaders must be able to master complexity to cre- ate change and, in a similar manner, ethical leaders face complexity in resolving thorny moral dilemmas. A persuasive argument can be made that ethical leadership and creative leadership share relational qualities, are both grounded in process (ethical reasoning), and both require self-reflection and imagination to produce positive results (Puccini et al., 2015). As Terry Cooper (2012) reminds us, one must develop a capacity to exercise one’s moral imagination. While creative leadership, like its more generic form, can be viewed as improvisational, perhaps even as an experimental art, ethical leadership requires one to anticipate desired ethical outcomes while taking into consideration the situation at hand (Heifetz, Grashow, & Linsky, 2009). In this sense, ethical leadership is improvisational, as it is not determined solely by the situation. There is no place for situational ethics in leading with integrity, and ethical leaders know that.

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Becoming a creative leader is just as great a challenge as becoming an ethical leader. In fact, perhaps it’s time to consider that ethicality and creativity, rather than existing on two separate continuums, are points along the same leadership spectrum. Both require persistence, patience, and much trial and error, along with a significant investment of self-reflection. Both also require that leaders maintain an insatiable quest over the course of their careers, an open mind for new knowledge, and a propensity to be responsible risk-takers. Above all else, creative and ethical leaders cannot compromise their authenticity, as to do so would surely sow de-motivating doubt among followers. Are you ready for the challenge this presents? Ready, set, go!…

REFERENCES

Cooper, T. L. (2012). The responsible administrator: An approach to ethics for the administrative role (6th ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Hassan, S., Wright, B. E., & Yukl, G. (2014). Does ethical leadership matter in government? Effects on organizational commitment, absenteeism, and willingness to report ethical problems. Public Administration Review, 74(3), 333–343. doi:10.1111/puar.12216

Heifetz, R., Grashow, A., & Linsky, M. (2009). Leadership in a (permanent) crisis. Harvard Business Review, 87(7/8), 62–69.

Keep Delving Into What’s Behind Sordid Land Deal. (2007, June 27). St. Petersburg Times, p. A16. Puccini, G. J., Mance, M., & Zacko-Smith, J. (2015). Creative leadership: Its meaning and value for science, tech-

nology and innovation. Retrieved from http://www.academia.edu/1958027/CREATIVE_LEADERSHIP_ITS_- MEANING_AND_VALUE_FOR_SCIENCE_TECHNOLOGY_AND_INNOVATION

van Sant, W., Abel, J., & Blackwell, T. (2007, August 29). Grand jury critical of Smith. St. Petersburg Times, p. A1.

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